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It seems that Joe Semple’s reeds are always merrily bubbling away in some group or other. By day, and sometimes in the evening, he stays busy playing B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet or tenor sax in the Royal Canadian Artillery Band. In his off hours, he leads or co-leads projects of his own as he will Friday, heading up a jazz quartet at Cafe Blackbird.

Like millions of other kids, Semple had piano lessons in childhood. When he hit junior high, his dad dusted off an old clarinet that was lying in the basement. But the will to make music didn’t really take hold until one day …

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“I was in my grandparents’ car listening to the radio,” Semple recalls. “Benny Goodman came on with Sing Sing Sing, and … and I loved it. From that point on, I was hooked on jazz clarinet.”

It’s heartening to know that Sing Sing Sing was still converting young minds to jazz some 70 years after that famous recording. Semple pursued classical clarinet lessons for a few years, but by high school, he realized “my heart was in the jazz idiom.”

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“It’s a very raw, emotional sound. It’s also such a collaborative genre. Everybody on stage is always working together, trying to make something new so a song is never going to sound the same way twice.”

Calgary-raised Semple took further formal training on reeds with Jim Brennan at that city’s Mount Royal College before he moved to Edmonton, finishing his degree at MacEwan University in 2015.

“I think the biggest lesson I learned in school was how important it is to cultivate good relationships with the people you play with. I play best with people I get along with.”

He specialized in composition at MacEwan, studying with Alan Gilliland. Today, his skills come in handy arranging for the military band, while he’s an avid composer of new tunes for his own projects.

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Spurred on by influences such as Goodman and Count Basie, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, and by contemporary jazz players such as Brian Blade, Semple seems well on his way to shaping his own identity. He has yet to release an album, but his online tracks display the fluid, lively energy he brings to his instrument and to ensemble arrangements. Thanks to modern technology, you can even hear and see him playing his own clarinet quartet on YouTube. It’s impressive stuff, especially for a 24-year-old.

It has only been about one year since the reedman joined the 35-member military band. He enjoys the diverse range of material and the different situations they perform in. The army’s marching and concert ensemble even made it to London, England, last summer to play for the changing of the guard.

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Then there’s the 12-piece collective called The Earballers he co-leads with Katie Vallar and Brett Hansen. They take on everything from jazz to rock to Celtic sounds. The Earballers will play their second concert May 25.

Semple’s Friday gig involves three other players he came to know at MacEwan: guitarist Brett Hansen, bassist Andreas Wegner and drummer Leonard Patterson. Since he first pulled the band together to play the 2015 Edmonton International Jazz Festival, it’s their third date at Cafe Blackbird. He explains the quartet will play “a mix of modern grooves, more traditional bop and bebop, mostly originals and some standards.”

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Tickets for the show, 7 pm. Friday at Cafe Blackbird (9640 142 St.) are $15 and it’s recommended you call for reservations (780-451-8890 or online at cafeblackbird.ca).

In case you’re wondering, the reedman is often asked if he’s any relation to guitarist Jack Semple. He isn’t.

Burrell concert

Master jazz pianist Dave Burrell was in town last week for a new music festival and he’s still here to co-lead a quartet gig at the Yardbird with trombonist Steve Swell on Saturday. Burrell’s career has tended to be overshadowed a bit by the various bandleaders he has spent much of his time playing for (David Murray, Archie Shepp, and others), but he’s a deeply gifted player who leans towards the avant-garde side of jazz. Swell is already known here for a few previous intense dates over the years.

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Raga Mala returns

It starts Saturday with a visit from D. Balakrishna on the Carnatic veena. One of the most ancient instruments in the Indian classical tradition, the veena usually involves seven principal steel strings over a 24-fret neck, resting on two large gourds, all about 1.2 metres long.

The veena virtuoso actually spent much of his life in a position with the Reserve Bank of India before he retired to devote himself to music. Bangalore-based Balakrishna is joined by percussionist Rohan Krishnamurthy on the dual-headed mridangam drum.

The concert happens 7 p.m. Saturday at the old Royal Alberta Museum Theatre in Glenora (12845 102 Ave.). Tickets are $20, discounted for students or seniors, and free for patron members.

Upcoming Raga Mala shows include a date with Rahul Sharma, master of the santoor (akin to the hammered dulcimer), joined by tabla percussionist Aditya Kalyanpur, at the same venue April 27.

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